Together, these social misfits toil away under the watch of Erlich (T.J. Miller), a blowhard dotcom millionaire, who runs an incubator out of his Palo Alto home. They're anxiously waiting to make a big bang, but also fearful that it might not happen.

"Money is flying all over Silicon Valley, but none of it ever seems to fall on us," mutters Big Head, during a swanky party, where pop star Kid Rock is a relative pauper.

But their big break appears to have arrived when Richard stumbles upon a killer algorithm within a music app that could be worth billions -- if he makes the right business moves.

Soon, Richard is caught in a bidding war between two eccentric tech billionaires -- Gavin Belson (Matt Ross), who runs a company called Hooli, and Peter Gregory (the late Christopher Evan Welch), an insufferable venture capitalist. Does he sell out, or take his chances and retain control of his dream?

Advertisement

The whole situation turns Richard into a nauseous, nervous wreck and forces him to dig down deep and find the kind of assertiveness and social skills that have eluded him his entire life. By the end of the episode, he decides to make a go of it with his buddies.

But can he handle a managerial role, and do so without alienating his housemates? Obviously, it's not going to be easy.

The pilot episode, directed by Judge, is teeming with inside jokes, geek speak and tech-culture nuances. (There are even a couple of shots at Palo Alto). And it certainly goes out of its way to skewer the superrich tech titans who Judge and Berg find to be smug and pompous.

Published reviews of "Silicon Valley" have been packed with raves (the show scored an 86 on Metacritic.com). But what did you think? Did you find Richard and the Valley boys easy to root for? Did Judge get it right? Are you in -- or out?

Please share your thoughts by posting a comment and give "Silicon Valley" a letter grade by voting in our poll.

Thomas Middleditch as Richard and Josh Brener as Big Head in 'Silicon Valley.' (Jaimie Trueblood/HBO)